November 12, 2015

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Anabel’s May Not Be the Answer

I am a first-generation, low-income, Agricultural Sciences student, and I am concerned about theoutcome of Anabel’s Grocery. I am not against the idea of a student-run grocery store, nor am I against solving the pervasive food insecurity problem. Solving food insecurity was why I chose to go to Cornell, but Anabel’s is not the solution. We need a full, impartial investigation into all strategies. A group of students and I, who are deeply concerned about food insecurity, believe that we cannot cut off discourse because a vote has been passed and “leave it to the administration.”

We find it hard to accept that Anabel’s economic projections are the only accurate ones. Their consistent response to negative-economic projections is that other projections are too conservative. Yet, The Sun, the Cornell Progressives and the Cornell Review have all expressed concerns over Anabel’s feasibility. Anabel’s has failed to acknowledge the bias problem inherent in relying solely on internally produced analysis. Its projections brush aside GreenStar’s impact on food-insecure students claiming that Green Star’s prices are too high, without ever taking into consideration GreenStar’s Fresh, Local, Organic Within Everyone’s Reach (FLOWER) program. Even if GreenStar is not feasible for food insecure people, it will attract those who aren’t food insecure which will cut into Anabel’s profit margin. Matt Stefanko ’16 proves our point when he acknowledges the possibility of Anabel’s returning to the Student Assembly for more funds.

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In addition to economic concerns, we believe that the concerns of religious students have not been properly heard. At the S.A. meeting last week, the sponsors of Anabel’s reiterated that they had gotten their ideas approved by the governing board of Anabel Taylor, Cornell United Religious Work. However, the directors are Christian, and as well intentioned as Anabel’s team may be on religious sensitivities, we find it negligent to suggest that by talking to the board of Anabel Taylor, the concerns of all religious students could be understood.To our knowledge, Anabel’s team has not reached out to the Hindu Student Council once, despite a Hindu Student Council member voicing concerns at last week’s S.A. meeting.

Additionally, the specific items to be sold are still to be determined. We commend Anabel’s for being open to input on their inventory, but students who do eat meat could be dissuaded from purchasing at Anabel’s, impacting its economic predictions. However, meat being sold has the potential to make students of some faiths uncomfortable. Though the proposed location of Anabel’s is convenient for many, we believe the significance of the building as a place of worship has not been fully considered, and that the concerns of students of non-Christian faiths have been dismissed with vague answers.

On November 11, 2015, we called the GreenStar ombudsperson. Their role, the GreenStar website explains, “is to be an impartial and confidential ‘sounding board’ for concerns.” We asked specific questions as to how their membership and FLOWER programs work. FLOWER identifies people with financial need through certain government benefits, then gives a membership discount of 15 percent. While currently, it could be difficult for students to be eligible for FLOWER, the notion that GreenStar’s policies are static is flawed. The original programs recognized as demonstrating financial need did not include the Free School Lunch Program, yet it was added this fall. Referendums can be submitted by ANYONE in order to create changes to GreenStar policies. Though as GreenStar stands, it can’t fix the problem of Cornell student food insecurity, we ought to recognize the possibility of a student partnership. Moreover, we believe that if we are committed to fighting food insecurity, the more avenues we have for students to purchase affordable, fresh food, the better.

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We ask the Cornell Community Coordination Committee to vote against allocating funds to Anabel’s. We aren’t against Anabel’s — in fact we think this would benefit Anabel’s by allowing a more sustainable business model to be developed and proposed. This would also allow time for the S.A. to consider other plans that may do a better job at giving food insecure individuals access to healthy and affordable food. A vote against Anabel’s is not a vote for food insecurity, but a vote for allowing the greatest exploration into the most viable solution possible.

Related

In the midst of a vibrant campus debate on how best to tackle food insecurity, President Elizabeth Garrett gave her approval of the plan to open a student-run grocery store in Anabel Taylor Hall on Nov. 23, clearing the final administrative hurdle blocking the store’s proponents from turning their plan into reality.

Anabel’s Grocery, the proposed student-run grocery store in Anabel Taylor Hall, received provisional approval from the Cornell Community Coordinating Committee last week. Following a Student Assembly meeting on Nov.

3 thoughts on “LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Anabel’s May Not Be the Answer”

There is a need to clarify the role of Cornell United Religious Work (CURW) regarding the proposed Anabel’s Grocery in Anabel Taylor Hall, Cornell’s interfaith center. Cornell United Religious Work is not a governing board. It is an administrative office which reports to the Dean of Students and the umbrella organization for 28 religious groups. The diversity of these groups represents a microcosm of today’s American religious landscape. Secondly, the Christian identity of the current Director and Associate Director animate our concern for the well-being and success of all students, including those of diverse faith traditions or philosophies of life.

That concern is directly related to CURW’s support of the location of the grocery in Anabel Taylor Hall. This support includes the approval of our religiously diverse group of Chaplains. It is appropriate for the grocery to be housed in this building because it is consistent with the values of multiple faith traditions to help those in need. Students of every possible identifying characteristic struggle with food insecurity.

There are many details to be addressed prior to the opening of the grocery, including the provision of food which also meets dietary restrictions based on religious practice. This issue was not lost on the Chaplains who met last year with the organizers of Anabel’s Grocery, many of whom are conversant with religious dietary restrictions. We are also aware that many campus eateries, where meat is served, provide meals to students that meet dietary requirements based on one’s faith tradition.

I would be receptive to meeting with you to provide further clarification about CURW and Anabel’s Grocery.

This post seems to be praising GreenStar more than anything and certainly not critically commenting on Anabel’s.

If anyone thinks GreenStar will solve Collegetown’s food desert situation, I urge you to WALK IN GreenStar and see for yourself their extraordinary costs. 15% discount or not, it’s still highly unaffordable. GREAT food, but highly unaffordable for college students.

There is a bit of a mischaracterization. The author complains that the Anabel’s team hasn’t been thorough in evaluating alternatives, and they haven’t. If there were to spend as much time on thinking about a transportation based solution–like stipends for the on-demand carshare–they could save students much more money than they will with Anabel’s.

Remember that Anabel’s won’t be very cheap–they are aiming for Wegman’s pricing. And it won’t be very convenient–its going to be open an average of 5 hours a day when classes are in session.

Much better to give people money to take a car to walmart–where I buy my groceries–and save about 25-30% over the same cart at wegmans.

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This post has been updated. Justin Barkley, 38, of Dryden, was charged with murder in the second degree, a class A1 felony, and pleaded not guilty in Ithaca City Court on Thursday afternoon, his attorney said.